Believe it or not, it is legal to eat dogs in New Mexico. However, it is not legal to eat a dog if the animal has been killed violently. A man in New Mexico is being charged of doing just that. According to the Chicago Tribune on Thursday morning, a man has been charged with killing his ex-girlfriend’s dog and preparing it for consumption by marinating it.

Sheriff’s deputies have arrested Salvador Martinez, 46, after he is suspected of the extreme animal cruelty. According to the report, the man is accused of killing a puppy that belonged to Mandy Malone – his former partner. He allegedly killed the puppy with a screwdriver. After the alleged killing of the dog, he reportedly prepared the dog for eating it. Donna Zamora, who is the spokesperson for the Torrance County Sheriff’s Office asserts that this tops the list of the worst cases of animal cruelty the sheriff’s department has ever seen.

According to the Toronto Sun, ex-girlfriend Malone told the media that her Martinez – her ex-boyfriend – had threatened in the past to kill the dog. She said that he had said it before – but she claims he said it as a joke in the past. She said that he made the joke “just out of the blue.” In the past he has told her that he was going to barbecue one of her dogs. Quite incredibly, the made the gruesome discovery at her home sometime after the comments he made. She concluded by saying that Martinez had her puppy marinating in the refrigerator.

Following the alleged incident, Salvador Martinez appeared in Torrance County Magistrate Court on Wednesday. The man was charged with the incident on July 18 in Edgewood. Martinez posted $5,000 bond after his arrest. Edgewood is a rural community some 20 miles due east of Albuquerque, New Mexico.